Coffee with Friends: starting the week with a social, community event at MSWA Albany Accommodation

MSWA Albany Accommodation was built to provide a permanent safe home for those living with a neurological condition who require high support and complex care. Staffed by MSWA Nurses and Support Workers, over time we have become our own community alongside Clients. Our Clients do receive some social support time through the NDIS but is very much dependant on funding and availability and, usually, only a few hours per week. Local community engagement was limited for many of our Clients. So, when the opportunity arose last year, we extended our community by inviting the ‘Coffee with Friends’ group into the facility. 

‘Coffee with Friends’ is a community-based group currently facilitated by Robyn France – Area Coordinator for the Bridges Disability Support Service, Anglicare WA. It has been going for many years as an informal meeting opportunity for People with Disability (PwD) in the community and their carers to catch up over coffee and cake and was formerly known as Best Buddies. The gathering is an opportunity for PwD to socialise, play cards and interact with others on a regular basis. It is held one morning a week and provides a safe environment for those involved. 

Historically, the Best Buddies would meet at local cafés. Overtime, the group found the need to have a more permanent meet-up location With the help of an MSWA Coordinator and the mutual connection between MSWA and Anglicare WA, we were able to offer the use of our lounge and dining rooms for this great, social initiative that so many of our Clients and carers now love.  

In fact, any initial reservations that the AWA Coffee with Friends group could be disruptive to the Cients who live at MSWA’s High Support Accommodation turned out to be unfounded during our trial period.  What we found instead is that yes, laughter and chatter mean that the group can be a bit noisy at times. But more importantly, they are a happy crowd who are aware that they are in close proximity to other people’s homes and are very respectful of the shared space and everyone’s needs.  

Many people who come into residential care can often lose touch with the community groups that they previously attended. Having AWA Coffee with Friends in our facility means that two of our accommodation Clients who previously attended when living elsewhere in the community can now join in at their own home. Even our Clients who wouldn’t normally attend community events now have the opportunity to join or simply pop by and say hi to the visitors in the corridor. 

Whilst MSWA caters for people living with neurological conditions, the AWA Coffee with Friends social group is open to anyone with a disability and their support workers.  

Playing host to the AWA Coffee with Friends weekly event gives MSWA Staff a chance to learn more about the community, its people and activities which can be of service to our own Clients. This education goes both ways, with external agencies learning more about the services that we offer, not just to our residential Clients but how we can help those in the community.  

Inviting the community into MSWA’s High-Support Accommodation has been a huge success for everyone involved. Monday mornings have become a social event for any of the residential Clients who wish to attend, especially our younger residents who were previous members of the AWA Coffee with Friends group. And the AWA Coffee with Friends group have a permanent meeting place for as long as they wish.  

As one of the residential Client’s said, “it is nice to hear all the young people laughing, brightens the place up a bit”.